Device for adjusting the platen to the line-spacing mechanism.



y N-O. 744,425. PAIENEEDv Nov. 17,1903.

A. W.v sTEIGEE. DEVICE EDE. ADJUSIING IEE PLATED To TEE LINE SPAGING MEGEA'NISM;

APPLIDATIDN IILED AUG. 2o, 1900. RENEWED MEE. 25. 1903. No MODEL.

3 SHEETS-SHEET' 1.

y XMI/7555455.

No. 744,425. -EATENTED Nov-.47, 190s.

f A. W. STEIGEE. DEVICE EOE ADJUSTING TEE ELATEN To THE LINE SPAGING MECEANISM.

APPLICATION FILED AUG. 20, 1900. RENEWED MAB.. 25, 1903.

N0 MODEL. 3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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l 2 o 710 Z lll' WIUEEEES I I* IVF/EFIUIZ No. 744,425. v PATENTED NOV.-l7, 1903. n A. W. STEIGER. DEVICE POR ADJUSTING THE PLATBN TO THE LINE SPAGINHG MEGHANISM. APPLIOATION FILED AUG. 2o. 1900. ENEWBD MAR. z5, 190s.

,l W V m t J M \\\\/,VV///////////1M0 No. 744,45/25. v IEatented November 17, 1903.

f UNITED STATES. PATENT OEEIcE.

ANDREW W. STEIGER, OF BOSTON, 'MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR, BY ASSIGNMENTS, TO AUGUSTUS L HOFFMAN, FREDERIC S. CONVERSE, E

AND FREDERIOJ. LEAOH, TRUSTEES, OF LYONS, NEW YORK.

DEVICE FOR ADIUSTING THE PLATENI' T O THE'LlNE-SPACING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Lettere Patent Ne. 744,425, dated November 17, 190e.

Application led August 20, 1900. Renewed March 25, 1903. Serial-No. 149,585. (No model.)

To ail whom it may concern: plunger having a conical surface near its eX- Be it known that I, ANDREW W. STEIGER, tremity, against which surface aseries ot' pins a citizen of the United States, residingin Bosabut and extend radially therefrom through ton, in the county of Suffolk and State of Masthe cylindrical portion of the head. The

5 sachusetts, have invented certain new and ratchet is faced flat and placed against the 55 useful Improvements in Devices for Adjustiinished outer surface of the head. A central ing the Platen to the Line-Spacing Mechanhole with beveled sides is turned in the ism, of which the following, taken in connecratchet, against which beveled surfaceV the tion with the accompanying drawings, is a pins press and center the ratchet. Athumb- Io specification. screw passes through the metal center of the 6o The present invention in type-writers reknurl, which serves to free or jam the conical lates to devices for locating the paper on the surface of the plunger against the pins, and platen with relation to the line of the type thereby to produce a like eect of the pins impressions. against the beveled surface of the ratchet.

15 It has heretofore been customary intype- If the pins are forced against the ratchet, 65 writer construction to secure to the platen a their thrust on the beveled surfaceof the regularly-notched surface which, in connecratchet causes the flat faces of the ratchet and tion with a coacting pawl operated bya'spachead to be pressed tightlytogether, in which ing-lever, serves to rotate the platen a detercase the ratchet Will be able to drive the 2o minate distance at each stroke of the pawl. platen in the usual manner; but when the 7o The platen is also restrained by a frictional thumb-screw is retracted the plunger falls detent which offers considerable resistance back and loosens the pins, and the ratchet to the rotation of the platen to prevent retron being restrained by a detent connected with grade motion. The paper is wound round the the paper table remains fixed, while the 25 platen and held against it by some frictional platen may be freely revolved by the knurl. 75 tension device, as a pressure-roll,and if the Ruled paper, as bill-heads, frequently does printed dateline should not happen to come not coincide in spacing with the line-spacing exactlyat the type-line of the machine the opof the machine, and hence if the operator erator is obliged to press back the tension despaces with the lever the Work is unsightly,

3o vice, if possible, and seesaw the paper to the instead of which the paper may be advanced 8o proper location. Some machines have such by hand at e'ach line with the knurl by looscomplex tension devices that all the members ening the thumb-screw. of thehands are holding something, so that An advantage flowing from this invention in returning to the machine a sheet for coris the ability to use more tension on the pres- 3 5 rections or like exact positioning Work athin sure-roll, which insures more accurate spac- 85 sheet may be torn or otherwise injured, with ing. consequent'annoying loss of time. In the drawings, Figure l is a sketch of a Now the purpose of this invention is to platen to which my 4invention has beenapovercome these faults; and it consists of deplied. Fig. 2 is a central section of the platen- 4o vices for freeing, adjusting, or locking the head and connected devices. Fig. 3 isa de- 9o platen to the spacing mechanism. tail of the ratchet and platen-head clutch.

In carrying the invention into effect I se- Fig. 4 is a cross-sectionV of a typewriter, cure to an end of the platen a head, face up showing the mode of Inountingthe carriage iiat the outer surface, and cutabearing-groove and platen. Fig. 5 is an vend elevation of the 45 on a cylindrical extension to support the platen and its connected parts. Fig. 6 is a 95 hanger of the paper-table. On the shaft ex section of parts at one end of the platen on tending from this head is mounted a bearing the line X X of Fig. 5. Fig. 7 is a section of for the platen in the carriage, and securely the ratchet alone. Fig. 8 is a section of the fastened thereto is the usual knurl for rotatspring-Washer. I

5o ing the platen. Within the shaft I place a Upon the carriage a I mount a platen Z7, so Ioo it may be revolved by the knurl c or else by a spacing-lever d, pivoted on the carriage, which is furnished with a spring-positioned pawl c, intermeshing with a ratchet f, which may be connected to the platen.

Referring to the parts connected with the platen when detached from the carriage, I secure to an end of the platen Z) the disk of a head g, the outer face of which disk is finished iiat, and there extends from the head a cylindrical boss 7L, in which is cut a groove to furn-ish a bearing for the paper table hanger t. The paper-table reinforcej, pivoted to the hanger t', furnishes a bearing for the pressure-roll and supports at its extremity the scale Z. The shaft on, extending from the boss h, carries a grooved bearing to support the platen in the carriage, together with the securely-fastened kn url c, by means of which the platen may be turned to insert the paper.

Within the shaft m is placed a plunger n, near the extremity of which is formed a conical surface 0, and extending therefrom is a small tip p. The position of this plunger is determined by a thumb-screw q, threaded in the metal portion of the knurl c. A series of pins r, radiating from the conical surface of the plunger, are supported in the boss of the head and are prevented from interfering with each other as the conical surface o is Withdrawn by the tip p.

One side of the ratchet f is made flat and is maintained lightly in contact with the outer surface of the head g by the pressure of a spring-disk washers, which is fixed in a groove cut in the boss h. If the thumb-screw qis set up against the plunger n, the conical surface o presses the pins r against the beveled surface a: of the ratchet, the resultant effect of which is to force the ratchet so tightly against the face of the head g that the spacing-lever d may by its pawl e rotate the ratchet and platen as one piece, and forms the normal driving relation of the parts. A detent meshes with the teeth of the ratchet, the detent being supported on a resilient arm w of an extension from the spring-disk washer s, another arm u of which extension passes over the trunnion o of the paper-table and holds the detent from turning about the platenshaft.

The ratchetf is a ring loosely held to the platen-head g (not necessarily at all times concentrically therewith) by the detent `,supported on the yielding arm w of the Washer s to restrain but not prevent its rotation. When, however, the pins r are jammed into contact with the beveled interior surface w of the ratchet, it will be centered and forced axially into close contact with the platen.

The platen may always be rotated with its knurl; but if the ratchet is secured to the platen more force must be used to move the' and as the conicalsurface 0 of the plunger is not much inclined to the plane'of the pins r, pressure on the thumb-screw q that is insufficient to disturb the ratchet and detent will furnish an ample driving-contact between the platen and ratchet. Nothingis required to free the plunger from the. pins save the slipping of the parts when not jammed, and less than half a turn of the thumb-screw q relieves the pressure, so that the pins may fall back and release the ratchet from the platen.

lf the operator wishes to insert in an ordinary machine a piece of paper with an engraved date-line, the paper may be run in with the spacing-lever or the knurls, and as the detent corresponding to the piece will position the platen the paper must be allowed to come some fraction of a space above the scale, as The operator now releases the paper-tension devices and adjusts the paper to the scale over the fixed platen. On the other hand, if the machine contains this invention the operator to use a like sheet of paper Will rst loosen the thu mb-screw q, the plunger will fall back and relieve the pins r, and thereby release the platen h from the ratchet j', which remains fixed in position by the detent and with the pawl e ready to feed the ratchet by means of the spacing-lever d. The paper is now inserted while the platen is movable with relation to the scale, and on turning the platen with the knurl c the date-line is brought to the scale Z.- Now the thumb-screw q is tightened, locking the ratchet to the platen, and on feeding the paper the usual two spaces the machine is ready for action.

Having described my invention, what I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is

l. In a type-Writer, a platen having central bosses, a friction-surface at the end of the platen, hangers supported from the bosses, a paper-table pivoted on its trunnions in the hangers carrying a pressure-roll and scale, combined with a ratchet having a frictionsurface in contact with that of the platen, a central beveled surface on the ratchet, a washer restrained from rotation by the paper-table trunnions positioned on a boss of the platen and supporting a spring-detent for the ratchet, a conical surface movable axially of the platen and means for changing the position of the conical surface to lock or free the platen and ratchet, substantially as described.

2. In a type-writer, a platen having a friction-head and a central boss, a finger-knurl fast with the boss, a plunger having a conical snrface free to move longitudinally of the boss, a thumb-screw to determinethe position of the plunger, and pins radiating IOC IIO

from the boss near the friction-head, com- Y bined with a ratchet having a friction-surface opposed to that of the platen and a beveled surface such that when the conical surface of the plunger forces the pins into contact with it the friction-surfaces of ratchet and platen will be fast together, substantially as described.

3. In a type-Writer, a platen having a friction surface at one end, a ratchet unrestrained by the platen, devices to oppose a friction-surface of the ratchet to that of the platen, a beveled surface central to the ratchet, a conical surface opposed to the beveled surface of the ratchet, and means for moving the inclined surfaces longitudinally of the platen to center the ratchet and jam it into driving relation with the platen, substantially as described.

4. In a type-Writer, a platen having an axial boss, a ratchet positioned clear of the boss in loose contact with the end of the platen and a spring-detent to hold the ratchet to the platen, substantially as described.

5. In a type-Writer, a boss extending from the end of a platen, radial pins protruding through the boss, a ratchet arranged against the end of the platen-head, said ratchet having a beveled surface in the plane of the pins, combined With means controlled by the operator to project the pins farther from the boss to jam the ratchet into driving-contact with the platen-head, substantially as de scribed my name this 27th day of December,

ANDREW W. STEIGER.

Witnesses:

JOHN B. DALEY, A. O. ORNE. 

